The Majestic Mountains of the Southern Alps – Mt. Cook, South Island, New Zealand

New Zealand is notorious for its awful weather. Before setting off on our 7-week roadtrip around the country, we’d heard our fair share of other travelers’ tales of cloudy days and rain-soaked misery. A friendly local in Marlborough suggested we keep a loose itinerary and travel with the weather, pointing out that the high mountain ranges that divide the country in two often result in variable weather conditions either side of the range. Generally, if it’s sunny on the Eastern side, it’s rainy on the Western, and vice versa.